Container for fire extinguishers



1933' w. L. ROESSNER 1,924,882

' CONTAINER FOR FIRE EXTINGUISHERS Filed Jan. 5, 1932 20%? Z 4772 J/ iaeaavzem Patented Aug. 29, 1933 mm STATES PATENT ore-ice CONTAINER FOR FIRE EXTINGUISHERS William L. Roessner, Iienver, Colo.

Application January 5, 1932. Serial No.584fl66 5 Claims.

a heavy gas that does not support combustion because it is composed mainly of carbon dioxide.

It is quite customary to provide buildings with. fire extinguishers comprising sealed glass containers filled with carbon tetrachloride and provided with means for breaking the containers when the temperature rises above a predetermined value.

Occasions arise, however, in which fires start at places where fire extinguishers are absent and it is therefore necessary to transport these to the place where the fire is so that the grenades can be thrown into the fire and for this purpose it is desirable to provide a case or carrier that will contain six or more grenades.

Where firemen and others attempt to quench a fire located in such a position that a ladder must be used, it is necessary to provide a carrier that can be carried in one hand and which shall be so constructed that it will securely hold the grenades in place until the carrier is opened.

Since it is necessary in climbing a ladder. to have at least one hand free, it is necessary to so construct the container that it can be conveniently carried and opened by one hand and for this purpose the covers are held in closed position by means of a catch that can be released by the hand that supports the carrier.

It is a further object of this invention to produce a carrier of light weight and of such design that it will not readily get out of order.

Another object of this invention is to produce a carrier that can be suspended from a support and which has means for breaking the grenades when the temperature reaches a predetermined value and which is therefore adapted for use in places where a large amount of fire extinguishing liquid may be necessary.

The above and other objects that may become apparent as the description proceeds are attained by means of a construction and an arrangement 1 of parts that will now be described in detail and Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on line 33,

Fig. 1;

- handle '7. The lower end of this handle is preferabove the covers.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on liners-4, Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a view looking in the direction of arrows 5-5, Fig. 3 and shows one form of means for breaking the grenades: and

' Fig. 6 Ilsa-side elevation of a fire extinguisher showing the. same supported on a wall.

In the drawing the bottom of the box or carrier has been indicated by reference numeral '1 and the ends by reference numeral 2, while the sides have been designated by reference numerals 3. The box is rectangular in shape and is provided at its open end with two covers 4. These'covers, are hinged to the upper edges of the sides 3 by means of suitable hinges 5. Springs 6 are provided at the hinges and these springs are so tensioned that they tend to move the covers from the fu1l-line or closed position shown in r :Fig. 3 .to the dotted line, or open position- Secured to the bottom. of the box is a tubular ablyprovided with a. flange 8 that is secured to the bottom by rivetsor other suitable means, The handle extends above the open end of the box and is provided .at its upper end with a hand grip 9. 1 This hand grip is preferably so formed that it will conform to the shape of the hand for the.- purpose of, giving a better grip. The ends of the hand grip are" provided with eyes 10, to which a strap can be connected for '.the. purpose of supporting the weight of the box from the shoulder. This strap has not been shown becausev its use does not involve invention. The tubular handle is provided with diametrically located openings 11 at a point directly And located, within the tubular handle is a U-shaped spring 12 whose lower endsare provided with triangular lugs 13 that project through the openings 11. The outer sides of the lugs are inclined, as shown and when the member 12 is in the. position shown in Fig. 1, the lugs project through the tubular handle and over the adjacent edges of the covers and serve to hold the latter in closed position. The handle is also provided with slots 14 near the under side of the hand grip and extending.

through these slots are pins 15 that are secured to the sides ofthe U-shaped member 12. Member 12 is preferably formed from spring material and the friction between it and the inside of the tubular member is sufficient to resist the action of the spring 6 in tending to open the cover, but if force is appliedto the pins 15 sufficient to move member 12 upwardly, the lugs 13 will be moved inwardly by the action of the inclined outer surfaces of the lugs, and as soon as the lugs have been removed from engagement with the covers, the latter will immediately move to open position by the action of springs 6. It will be. seen from the above description that the container is soconstructed that it can be carried in, one hand and that by the simple expedient of engaging one or more of the pins 15 the latch can be released and the container opened. This is very important where the box or container is used for carrying fire extinguishers because it makes it possible for the firemen to open the container without releasing his hold on the latter. For the purpose of holding the handle rigidly in position, a

brace 16 has been provided which extends from the handle to the ends of the box as shown in Fig. 1. This brace instead of extending lengthwise of the box can extend transversely or even diagonally across as the idea is to secure the handle to the upper end of the box so as to hold the two against relative movement.

The container that has been illustrated is adapted for use with a certain type of grenade holder which has been illustrated and claimed in my pending application Serial No. 457,100, filed May 29, 1930, and the sides are provided with rivets 17 that are adapted to extend through keyhole slots in the frame member 18 of the grenade holder. The holders can be readily removed from the container and as readily replaced therein. In Fig. 5 I have shown a thermoresponsive mechanism by means of which the grenades 19 are broken when the temperature exceeds a predetermined value. This mechanism has also been described and claimed in the above identified application but will be briefiy described for the purpose of more clearly defining this invention. The lower end of the grenade support 18 has two spaced arms 20 to which the jaws 21 are pivotally connected. A spring 22 is located between the rearward extensions of the jaws and is held in compressed condition by means of a thermo-responsive fuse mechanism 23. When the temperature becomes high enough to fuse the material of this restraining device, the force of the spring 22 will move the jaws together and crush the glass grenade so as to allow the contents thereof to be released and flow outwardly through the holes 24 in the bottom of the container. The under surface of the covers are preferably provided with felt blocks 25 that keep the grenades from falling out if the container is accidentally overturned; The covers are also provided with openings 24a that correspond to the openings in the bottom and when thiscontainer is supported in a room the air can circulate through the interior thereof so as to maintain the temperature on the inside the same as on the outside and in this way the container serves as a protective device for buildings and rooms. The fuses can be so adjusted that they will respond to different degrees of temperature, so that only one of the grenades will be broken at a time and then if the temperature still increases, others will be broken until the fire is extinguished. The holders can be secured to the surface of a wall 26 as shown in Fig. 6, or to the inside of the container as may be desired.

In the drawing the grenades have been shown as placed on opposite sides of the central plane, but it is evident that if the grenades are staggered, the adjacent edges can overlap so as to make it possible to employ a narrower box. This has not been shown because it is not a matter that involves invention, but is merely referred to to show that such a construction has been contemplated.

The latching mechanism shown and described, is believed to be well suited to the purpose, but applicant is aware that other latching mechanisms can be used, and the one shown is therefore merely illustrative of means for this purpose and applicant does not desire to be limited to this construction as his combination includes any specific latching mechanism that is the substantial mechanical equivalent of the one shown.

Having described the invention What is claimed as new is:

1. A container for fire extinguisher hand grenades comprising, a box having a bottom, sides and ends, a cover hinged to the box and adapted to close the top thereof, resilient means associated with the box and cover for moving the latter to open position, a handle secured to the box, a latch mechanism carried by the handle for holding the cover in closed position, the handle having a hand grip, and means also carried by the handle and located in close proximity of the hand grip for operating the latch.

2. A container for storing and transporting fire extinguisher hand grenades comprising, a box having a bottom, sides, ends and a hinged cover adapted to close the top thereof, a handle secured to the box and terminating above the top, the upper end of the handle having a hand grip, spring means associated with the box and the cover for moving the latter to open position, and a latch carried by the handle for holding the cover in closed position.

3. A container for storing and transporting fire extinguisher hand grenades comprising, a box having a bottom, sides, ends and a hinged cover adapted to close the top thereof, a handle secured to the box and terminating above the top, the upper end of the handle having a hand grip, spring means associated with the box and the cover for moving the latter to open position, a latch carried by the handle for holding the cover in closed position and means located adjacent the hand grip for controlling the latch.

4. A container for storing and transporting fire extinguisher grenades comprising, a box having a bottom, sides, ends and a cover hinged to the top of the box, spring means for moving the cover to open position, a handle secured to the box and projecting above the top thereof, the handle being located substantially at the intersection of the two diagonals of the box and provided at its upper end with a hand grip, a latch carried by the handle and located so as to engage the cover when the latter is closed, said latch having an operating portion located adjacent the hand grip.

5. A container for storing and transporting fire extinguisher hand grenades comprising, a box having a bottom, ends and sides, the top being open, hinged covers attached to the top of the box and adapted to close the same, spring means associated with the covers for moving the same to open position, a handle secured to the box and extending upwardly through the top thereof, said handle being hollow and provided with openings in its sides, a spring located within the handle, lugs secured to the spring and projecting throughthe openings, said lugs being positioned to engage the covers to hold them in closed 9 position for the purpose of releasing the covers. 1

WILLIAM L. ROESSNER. 

